Paths
by harry-ron-hermione-fan-101
Summary: "He chose his path- the wrong one. You chose yours- the right one. You can mourn his decision, love, but it won't change it Lils." While on a mission for the Order, Lily and James cross paths with someone they once knew.


James and I stood shoulder to shoulder, our backs against a stone wall.

Sirius barrelled past us, his eyes briefly flitting to James to confirm our safety. A quick nod from both men, and Sirius was gone, suddenly on all four paws, bounding down the hallway. An explosion shook the building, and muffled screams sounded from the floor above.

"Ready?" James asked, his hazel eyes on me as I turned to face him. His hair was more messy than usual -if that was even possible- and stuck to his forehead with sweat. I had slim to no estimates as to how long we had been fighting, but it felt like forever. A lens of his glasses was cracked, and he had a cut on his cheek.

I reached up and brushed some dirt off of his chin, then forced my face into a smile which probably looked more like a grimace. "Are you?" I shot back and James chuckled once, then stooped down and pressed a hurried kiss against my forehead. I leaned into his embrace glad for the comfort, even if it was short lived.

James' hand slipped to mine and with an unspoken agreement, we ran, our heads ducked down, wands at the ready.

We sprinted through the mass of Death Eaters and Order members alike, searching for the door that would lead to the upper floors where the McKinnons were being held and, most likely, tortured.

This mission had gone horribly wrong. It was supposed to be a "get in, get them out" kind of mission, but information had gotten into the Death Eaters hands and they had an ambush waiting. James and I had been able to call for back up, but the objective was still the same- do everything in our power to get the McKinnons out. The back up would take care of the Death Eaters.

We reached the door and James let go of the my hand to cover my back as I turned and quickly unlocked the mahogany door with a muttered "Alohomora." I flung it open and raced down another hall, James hot on my heels. Neither of us bothered with Colloportus, seeing how the opposition had Alohomora available as well.

Sometimes I hate magic and the fact that it's accessible to anyone with the knowledge, and a wand.

We reached the end of the hall, and came across Remus, who was leaning against a wall, a gashes that were pouring blood all over his body. As we pulled to a halt, Remus collapsed. I hurried forwards, but James was quicker. He caught his friend and helped him lie down.

"McKinnons…" Remus wheezed out, a dribble of blood pouring from his mouth. "They're dead… we have to… get out…" Remus eyes fluttered shut, and James hastily, and somewhat clumsily, slapped his face. I looked at my husbands face to see that it had gone whiter than bone. He was almost as white as Remus.

Panic bubbled in my chest as Remus breathing slowed. I set to work closing the gashes that were still bleeding. James started healing a few as well, but Remus still wasn't looking too well.

We sat there, frantically healing our friend when I remembered what he had said about the McKinnons. "Remus?" I muttered, and his eyelids flickered as he attempted to open them. James nudged me gently in the side, a sign for me to let him rest, but I didn't listen. "Remus, you said they're… they're dead?"

Remus nodded ever so slightly, but it was enough. James sighed heavily, fisting his hands in his hair, staining the sides of his face red with Remus' blood. James swore, and I felt deflated. All of this for nothing.

"I'll alert the Order," I muttered and rose shakily to my feet. My gaze wandered down the hallway, to the room that I knew would hold the bodies of my friends.

The McKinnons were my friends. I knew them during my first few years at Hogwarts, and had seen them several times since. A chocked sob burst out of my mouth, and I clapped a hand to it.

"Lil-"

"I'm fine, James," I interrupted, wiping my suddenly damp eyes. I looked down at and smiled slightly. "Stay with Remus, I just…I have to… say goodbye."

I didn't listen to their protests-Remus was feebly adding in his protests- and walked quickly down the hall. From behind me, I heard Remus murmur something hastily to James, and James swore. There was a frantic scuffling sound, and I turned back to see James helping Remus to his feet.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, spinning on my heel and walking back to them, hands fisted at my sides. "Do you want to re-open his wounds? James, you pigheaded- and Remus, you should know you have to rest!" Suddenly the door I had been trying to go to burst open and Sirius burst out, back in human form. He threw a few spells over his shoulder as he ran down the hall, and the tell tale thumps of bodies hitting the floor confirmed that his spells had hit their mark.

Sirius stopped dead when he caught sight of us, then his face drained of blood. He hurried forward, patting my on the back as he passed, then lifting up Remus' other arm and helping James support him. Sirius looked Remus up and down, then snapped, "What happ-?"

James cut him off. "Sectumsepera. He must be here-"

Now it was Sirius' turn to interrupt James. "Of course he's here, who do you think I was just duelling?"

During this whole exchange, the four of us began making our way down the hallway, back to the door we had come from. James swore and his head snapped back to look at me from where I was at the back of the group, warily watching for any signs of danger.

"Lily, we have to go, now. _Right_ now." He turned back to Remus. "Can you make it with just Padfoot?"

I stopped. "No, we have to get Remus to a safe apparating distance, then we can split up." Even while I protested, the men were splitting up, Remus and Sirius shuffling off down a side corridor that lead to the outside, while James grabbed my hand and dragged me off in the opposite direction.

"James, we have to-"

"Sirius will send the message. I'm getting you out of here. Right now." We turned a corner and came face to mask with at least five Death Eaters. Aberforth stood in their midst, firing curses and hexes every which way, but James and I still pulled out our wands to help. With in a matter of seconds, all the Death Eaters lay on the floor, and Aberforth, James and I stood panting in the midst of the battle zone.

Aberforth nodded his thanks and then turned heel and ran down some stairs, leading to the basement and -no doubt- more Death Eaters.

I rounded on James. "Why are you so eager to get me out of here?"

James huffed, than ran one hand through his hair, while grabbing my wrist with the other. He started to pull me down the hallway, but I dug in my heels like a child and pried at his fingers.

James practically growled with frustration. "Lily, please, trust me. I want you out of here. Let's go."

"Not until you tell me why! I want to help the Order! We joined to fight Death Eaters, so let's fight Death Eaters!" I yelled, trying to turn and leave again.

"Lily, please." Something in his voice made me stop and look back. He looked so pleading and desperate. I faltered. "Lily, I know you don't understand, and I'm being cryptic, but please Lily. Please. Let me get you somewhere safe."

I sighed, my head turning in the direction Aberforth had gone. "James…" I tried to plead back, but the fight had gone out of me. What ever the reason he was trying to get me out of here, it had seriously shaken him up.

I threw up my hands, walking back to him. "Fine, James, you can-"

Without even hearing someone yell a curse, James and I were thrown back. James flew out of my line of sight, but I collided against a wall, a sickening crack echoing through the corridor as my head crashed against the stone. I fell down, my bones like rubber. My vision swam, and I suddenly felt very light headed. I shook my throbbing head, blinking frantically and looked up through watery eyes to see James already on his feet, duelling viciously with the new arrival. I tried to get to my feet, but James glanced over his shoulder, and yelled, "STAY DOWN, LILY!" I wasn't feeling well enough to argue, so I stayed where I was, but I still brought my wand up to my head and started to try to heal the damage there.

James was still fighting with the Death Eater by the time I had patched myself up. Not completely mind you, but enough I could help him fight. I struggled to my feet and staggered forwards, only to find that James had put a shield charm up, and a strong one at that. I couldn't get any closer, nor could I cast any spells without them rebounding.

I hit my fists against the barrier and kind of shrieked in frustration, and James allowed himself a brief smile, and a "Sorry, love," thrown over his shoulder.

Suddenly, James roared and slumped to the ground, clutching his stomach. From the angle he was at, I could see that his hand was stained with red when he pulled his hand away, and I panicked.

"James! James, let me out, let me help, James!" He shook his head and got to his feet, wincing. Suddenly, the Death Eater was hoisted into the air by his ankle. The surprise of it caused him to drop his wand, which rolled down the hallway and out of sight.

But that's not what caught my attention.

When he was hoisted into the air, his mask fell of and his hood slipped so it wasn't casting his face in shadow. I knew that hooked nose and long-ish, greasy hair.

I slumped against the barrier James had put between us as he glanced over his shoulder apologetically. I understood his rush to get me out, now. When he had seen Remus' wounds, he had started to put the pieces together, but Sirius had confirmed it when he said, "Who do you think I was duelling?" Severus Snape was here. And he was fighting on the side of the Death Eaters.

It felt like a kick in the stomach. I had always hoped that maybe, just maybe, Snape would see the error of his ways and decide against joining Voldemort, but I could see know that that had been pointless.

Anger filled me. How dare he hurt Remus? How dare he hurt _James_? How _dare _he be part of the organization that had just _killed _a family, and had killed and tortured countless others? James' shield charm was suddenly more that protection- it was a cage, and I needed to get out, I needed to get at _him_, and I needed to make him pay.

James could tell I was on the brink of- I don't even know, but something drastic. He hastily sent a stunning curse at our former classmate, and lifted his shield charm between us. Before I had a chance to raise my wand, he had me by the wrist and was dragging me out, down long winding corridors. I don't know where we went or who we saw, who we duelled- everything was a blur, and all I could see was a wall of red.

It seemed all of a sudden-but really it had taken 10 minutes- but I was sitting down on a cot next to Remus and Peter, who had also sustained injuries, while we waited for James to get patched up. Peter, having heard about what had happened, placed a timid hand on my shoulder, and offered me a small smile. Remus frowned at the back of my head- I could tell he was much better if he was sitting up and running inventory. I gave them both a half smile, then my face slumped back into expressionless.

I wasn't aware of when, but somehow James showed up and wormed his way in between my and Remus. Remus and Peter tactfully shuffled off to somewhere else, despite my protests that they could stay. Remus was still healing from a brutal attack and Peter still had shards of glass in his face, but they waved off my concerns and went to find Sirius.

James and I sat in silence before I spoke up.

"I never thought… he wasn't…. I never…" I could barely get a sentence out before I broke down into tears. James shushed me gently, pulling my face to rest in the crook of his neck. I flung my arms around him and sobbed. He stroked my hair softly, mindful of where I was hurt, and rubbed my back soothingly.

"He chose his path- the wrong one. You chose yours- the _right _one. You can mourn his decision, love, but it won't change it Lils," he said softly, and I nodded against his chest.

"I just… It makes me so angry. That he's… gone so wrong. He almost killed Remus, he hurt you-"

"And he hurt you, too" James interrupted. "He flung you into a wall." I started crying again, and James rocked me back and forth.

We stayed that way for a long, long while.

**A/N: *sigh* Plot bunny is appeased. Review? I feel like I wrote them all wrong. Probably did.**


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